Helmet for electrical workers



June 18, 1957 W. S. FINKEN HELMET FOR ELECTRICAL WORKERS Filed Nov. 24, 1954 WAZ me INVEN TOR. 5 fi/v/rm 2,795,792 HELMET FOR ELECTRICAL WORKERS Walter S. Finken, Brooklyn, N. Y., assignor to Leonard P. Frieder, Great Neck, N. Y.

ApplicationNovember 24, 1954, Serial No. 470,958

11 Claims. (Cl. 2-3) This invention relates to safety helmets of the type intended to protect the wearer against blows on the head, and particularly to helmets intended to protect the wearer additionally against electrical shocks due to contact with live wires, etc.

Safety helmets of the type described commonly consist of a rigid outer shell, having internal dimensions substantially larger than the head of the wearer, and a rigging which supports this shell on the wearers head so that the shell is spaced from the head. The rigging is commonly constructed of straps of webbing or other flexible materials and is effective to absorb and soften blows on the helmet from external sources.

It is necessary to provide some means of securely fastening the rigging to the shell. Commonly the fastening means involves the provision of apertures extending through the shell, and fastening elements extending through the apertures. The fastening elements may be either portions of the rigging such as webbing straps or cords, or they may be rivets, screws, or other conventional fastening devices.

' Where such helmets are used by electrical workers, for example, linemen, it is desirable that the helmets also provide protection for the lineman against electrical shock which may be received upon contact of the shell with overhead wires. In conventional helmets, the apertures in the shell through which the fastenings for the rigging extend, present regions of weakness which may result in transmission of shocks to the wearers head. It is sometimes necessary for linemen to work in stormy weather, when the exterior surface of the helmet may become wet. The moisture may pass through the openings in the helmet shell under such circumstances, thereby providing a low resistance path for the flow of electric currents to the wearers head.

Such helmets are commonly provided with a projecting brim around their lower surface. The wearer of such a helmet commonly puts it on and takes it off by grasping the projecting brim. He also uses the brim to adjust the position of the helmet on his head. When the exterior surface of the shell is wet, such a handling of the brim presents a possible additional shock hazard, if any portion of the shell is in contact with a charged wire.

An object of the present invention is to provide an improved safety helmet for electrical workers, including improved means for fastening a supporting rigging to a helmet shell without the use of apertures extending through the shell.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved helmet for electrical workers, including means for preventing the establishment of a conductive path from the crown of the shell to the brim through the deposit of rain or other atmospheric moisture.

The foregoing objects are attained, in the helmet structures described herein, by providing on the exterior surface of the shell, a second brim or flange, spaced above the conventional brim and sloping outwardly and downwardly from the shell so that its under surface is protected from falling rain and thereby remains dry under almost all weather conditions. This dry under surface of the second flange prevents the establishment of a conductive path from the crown of the shell to the lower brim due to the deposit of atmospheric moisture.

Molded into the shell of the helmet at spaced intervals about its periphery are a number of lugs substantially thicker than the other portions of the helmet shell. The inner sides of these lugs are provided with recesses to receive anchor blocks. The rigging which supports the headgear on the wearers head is attached to these anchor blocks. There is thus provided an arrangement for securely attaching the rigging to the shell without the necessity of having any aperture or opening in the shell structure.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from a consideration of the following specification andclaims, taken together with the accompanying drawing.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view of an electrical workers helmet embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view taken on the line II-II of Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary internal elevational view of a portion of the helmet of Fig. 1, showing one of the recesses for receiving an anchor block; and

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary view similar to Fig. 1, illustrating a modified form of the helmet shell structure embodying the invention.

Referring to the drawing, there is shown in Fig. 1 a helmet of generally hemispherical lcontour, having at its lower edge an outwardly projecting and downwardly sloping flange or brim 2, extending about the entire periphery of the helmet. The brim 2 is tapered, being thicker at its outer edge, so that it serves readily as a handle for putting the helmet on and taking it off. The brim 2 is molded integrally with the shell 1, both being preferably formed of a moldable plastic material.

Spaced above thebrim 2 is a second brim or flange 3, which is also molded integrally with the shell 1. The flange 3 projects outwardly and downwardly from the shell 1, and is generally parallel to the brim 2. It may be seen that the underside of the flange 3 is protected from falling rain or other atmospheric moisture and that it will normally stay dry even under severe atmospheric moisture conditions. The dry under side of the flange 3 eflectively interrupts any path of flow of current from the crown of the shell 1 through surface moisture to the brim 2. Consequently, a worker wearing a helmet of the type shown in Fig. 1 may safely handle the brim 2, even though the crown of the shell 1 is in contact with a charged wire at the same time. By making the brim 2 wider than flange 3, the possibility of the wearers hand coming in contact with the flange 3 is reduced. The flange 3 may be thinner than brim 2, since it is not commonly subject to any stress.

The flange 3 is provided on its under side with a coating or veneer 3a of granular cork, or equivalent electrically insulating material having non-condensing characteristics, to provide a surface on which moisture; e. g. fog or water vapor, will not condense. This coating may, for example, be applied by a flocking process. 7

Between the two flanges 2 and 3, and at spaced intervals around the periphery of the shell 1 there are molded a series of lugs 4, best seen in Fig. 2. The lugs 4 provide thickened portions of the shell 1. There is formed on the inside of each of these thickened portions a recess 5, shown in elevation in Fig. 3. As thereillustrated, it may be seen that the recess 5 has side walls which taper toward each other at the top. The side walls also extend toward each other at the inner side of the recess, i. e., at the inside surface of the shell, so that the edges 5a of the recess 5 are undercut (see Fig. 2). This tapered construction of the sides of the recess 5 facilitates manufacture by permitting easy removal of the shell from the mold. This arrangement also facilitates assembly of the shell with the rigging structure.

In each of the recesses 5 there is located an anchor block 6. The anchor blocks 6 have tapered sides, conforming to the tapered sides of the recesses 5. Each anchor block 6 is provided with a channel 6a cut in its outer side and communicating with the interior of the helmet through an opening 617, located near the lower edge of the anchor block 6. The upper wall of the recess 5 has an aperture at its center, as shown at 5b in Fig. 3, to provide communication between the upper end of the channel 6a and the interior of the helmet shell.

The rigging which supports the helmet on the head of a wearer includes a plurality of head straps 7 adapted to extend over and engage the crown of the Wearers head. Each end of each head strap 7 extends through the open ing Sb into the channel 6a in the back of one of the anchor blocks, and thence outwardly through the opening 6b in the anchor block, and upwardly along the face of the anchor block, being stitched to itself, as shown at 8 in Fig. l. The end of the strap 7 extends beyond the stitching 8 and is attached by any suitable means, to a headband 9, of any suitable construction, adapted to engage the periphery of the wearers head.

The anchor blocks 6 are preferably formed of insulating material, which may be molded plastic material of the same type as that of which the shell 1 is constructed. The anchor blocks 6 are fastened in the recesses 5 by bonding, so that the anchor blocks are firmly fixed in the shell 1.

It maybe therefore be seen that this mounting arrangement for the rigging including the anchor blocks and the straps 7, provides a firm support for the shell 1, without the use of any aperture extending through the shell. The only localities on the shell which are at all weakened by the mounting structure are in turn strengthened by the lugs 4. The lugs 4 being between the flanges 2 and 3 are protected to some extent against external moisture.

Fig. 4 illustrates a modification of the invention in which a protective flange is added as an accessory to a conventional helmet shell 10, having a brim 11. A flange 12 of generally L-shaped cross-section is molded of electrical insulating material. The inner diameter of the flange is contoured to fit the periphery of the shell 10 a short distance above the brim 11 of the shell. The flange 12 may be slipped over the crown of the shell to its seating position, as illustrated in Fig. 4, and fixed in that location by a suitable bonding agent. An auxiliary flange 12, so added to a conventional helmet shell, will provide effective protection of the wearer against electrical shocks due to handling of the brim 11 while the shell is wet and in contact with a live wire. Flange 12 is provided on its under side with a coating 12a of granular cork, similar to that provided on flange 3, to inhibit condensation of moisture thereon.

While I have shown and described certain preferred embodiments of my invention, other modifications thereof will readily occur to those skilled in the art, and I therefore intend my invention to be limited only by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A helmet, comprising a rigid shell adapted to be supported on a wearers head, said shell being formed of electrically insulating material and having upper and lower outwardly projecting, downwardly sloping flanges extending about its entire periphery adjacent the bottom thereof, said flanges having at least their outer edges vertically spaced, the lower of said flanges being adapted for grasping by the wearer, the upper of said flanges providing on its under side a surface sheltered against deposit of moisture from the air, said sheltered surface inhibiting the transmission of electric potentials from the crown of the shell thruogh surface moisture to the lower flange.

2. A helmet as defined in claim 1, in which said lower flange is wider than said upper flange.

3. A helmet as defined in claim 1, in which said lower flange is thicker than said upper flange.

4. A helmet as defined in claim 1, in which the under side of said lower flange is steeper than the under side of said upper flange.

5. A helmet as defined in claim 1, in which said lower flange is tapered, being thicker at its outer edge.

6. A helmet as defined in claim 1, in which both said flanges and said shell are integrally molded.

7. A helmet comprising a rigid shell adapted to be supported on a wearers head, said shell being formed of electrical insulating material and having upper and lower, outwardly projecting, downwardly sloping flanges extending about its entire periphery adjacent the bottom thereof, said flanges having at least their outer edges vertically spaced, the lower of said flanges being wider and thicker than the upper flange and being tapered inwardly from a thickened outer edge to adapt it for grasping by the wearer, the upper of said flanges having its underside sloping upwardly toward the helmet shell so that said underside is sheltered against the deposit of moisture from the air and is effective to inhibit the transmission of electric potentials from the crown of the shell through surface moisture to the lower flange.

8. A helmet comprising a rigid shell adapted to be supported on a wearers head, said shell being formed of electrical insulating material and having an outwardly projecting brim about its lower periphery. said brim being molded integrally with said shell, and a flange extending around said shell and having at least its outer edge spaced vertically above said brim, said flange being bonded to said shell and providing on its underside a surface sheltered against the deposit of moisture from the air and eflective to inhibit the transmission of electric potentials from the crown of the shell through surface moisture to the brim.

9. A helmet, comprising a rigid shell adapted to be supported on a wearers head, said shell being formed of electrically insulating material and having upper and lower, outwardly projecting, downwardly sloping flanges extending about its entire periphery adjacent the bottom thereof, said flanges being vertically spaced at least at their outer edges, the lower of said flanges being adapted for grasping by the wearer, the upper of said flanges being provided on its under side with a coating of noncondensing material having a surface sheltered against the deposit of moisture from the air and effective to inhibit the transmission of electric potentials from the crown of the shell through surface moisture to the lower flange.

10. A helmet as defined in claim 9 in which said coating of non-condensing material comprises a flocked veneer of granular cork.

11. A helmet, comprising a rigid shell adapted to cover a wearers head, said shell being formed of electrical insulating material and having upper and lower vertically spaced, outwardly projecting, downwardly sloping flanges extending about its entire periphery adjacent the bottom thereof, the lower of said flanges being adapted for grasping by the wearer, (the upper of said flanges providing on its under side a surface sheltered against the deposit of moisture from the air and effective to inhibit the transmission of electric potentials from the crown of the shell through surface moisture to the lower flange, a plurality of bosses formed integrally with said shell and projecting outwardly therefrom between said flanges, said bosses being spaced about the shell periphery, said shell having recesses formed on the inner sides of said bosses, anchor blocks received in said recesses, and rigging means for References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,935,204 Dym Nov. 14, 1933 6 Ruggiero Jan. 2, 1951 Johnson et a1. Feb. 19, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS Great Britain Aug. 5, 1878 

